It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime . An aerial endeavor that would take 17-year-old pilot Haris Suleman and his father , Babar , around the world in just 30 days and into the record books .

The journey , months in the planning , would take the pair on a 26,500-mile odyssey , with 25 stops planned in 15 countries . The aim was to raise funds for a charity in Pakistan that helps poverty-stricken children go to school .

Instead , the American teenager is now confirmed dead and his father is missing after their plane crashed into the ocean off American Samoa on Tuesday night .

Haris had been due home in Indiana on Saturday , his sister Hiba Suleman told reporters Wednesday .

His body has been recovered , she said . But their father , also a pilot , has not been found .

`` We 're hoping my dad is alive and well , and we 're going to keep praying until we have a definitive answer , '' Hiba Suleman said .

She told reporters the plane was about 23 miles from the island when it crashed . Her father would n't have let Haris take off if the weather was bad , she said .

It is unclear why the plane crashed or why the duo took off at night .

`` He was doing something that he loved . He was doing something adventurous , '' she said of her brother , who received his pilot 's license in June . And he was doing it for a good cause , she added .

Read more from CNN affiliate WTHR

` On my bucket list forever '

In an interview with CNN affiliate WISH TV last month , only days before the pair set off , Haris appeared excited as he outlined their itinerary -- which if completed in 30 days in their single-engine plane would have made him the youngest pilot to achieve the feat .

He also told how he and his father had received survival training in case of having to ditch their plane in the water .

Babar Suleman , asked about the inherent risk involved in such a venture , said he put his faith in sound preparations .

`` In all these endeavors , the biggest part of the whole thing is the planning , '' he said . `` While he was training and getting his license , I was busy planning all the different segments , all the different fuel stops , different cruise profiles . I set up all of the plans and he will do all the execution . ''

The record-breaking attempt , he said , `` has been on my bucket list forever . ''

Babar Suleman also spoke of the importance of the work done by the Seeds of Learning charity , an Indiana group which supports the work of the Citizens Foundation in Pakistan .

The money raised , he said , would help open schools `` for underprivileged children who otherwise would not have a hope of getting an education and may even end up in the wrong hands . ''

He expanded on his charitable motivation for the trip in his blog , Around the World in 30 Days , explaining how in the wake of the September 11 , 2001 , attacks in the United States he had come to the conclusion `` that lack of proper education contributed to the events of that day . ''

The work of the Citizens Foundation to provide education to thousands of impoverished Pakistani children is , he said , `` the noblest of all causes . ''

The last entry on the blog is posted from Bali , Indonesia .

` Huge heart '

The principal of the high school where Haris was a rising senior said the school was deeply saddened by his death .

`` Haris ' adventurous spirit and huge heart led him to reaching for this personal goal while also seeking to raise funds and awareness for schools supported by The Citizens Foundation , a nonprofit organization headquartered in Karachi , Pakistan , '' said Melvin Siefert , principal of Plainfield High School .

A soccer coach at the school told the Indianapolis Star that Haris was a great student and a talented player .

`` Haris loved to joke a lot , '' David Knueve told the newspaper . `` He just got the team sort of laughing at the right moments . ''

His sister said Haris planned to be an engineer like his father .

The oldest sibling , a brother , was trying to get from London to American Samoa to pick up Haris ' body but there were only a few flights , Hiba Suleman said .

Emergency beacons

A Coast Guard spokeswoman , Petty Officer Melissa McKenzie , said a plane would aid in the search for Babar Suleman .

He and Haris were wearing `` gumby '' suits that could help them survive a water landing , Hiba Suleman said . She said they had taken a course in how to survive a crash in the ocean .

They also had life rafts aboard .

The next legs of the trip were supposed to cross the Pacific Ocean , with stops in Kiritimati -LRB- also known as Christmas Island -RRB- and Hawaii .

The plane has yet to be recovered , but emergency beacons were sending out signals .

The National Transportation Safety Board said the plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza A36 .

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Coach says young pilot was a soccer player who had a knack for when to tell joke

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Haris Suleman , 17 , was at the controls during his trip around the world

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His father , Babar Suleman , was traveling with him and is missing

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Haris ' sister says her brother and dad had trained for a water landing